The Library
by kuroaiko2014
Summary: Clint and Natasha just want to study in the Library, but Tony just *had* to mess with them. Crossover Avengers in Hogwarts **QLFC S4R13** (Don't own HP or Avengers, unfortunately)


Team: Kenmare Kestrels

Position: Beater 1

Prompt: S1R13 / Free - Write whatever your muse desires. No restrictions. Go crazy!

OPTIONAL PROMPTS:

1\. (setting) Hogwarts' library

4\. (dialogue) "I will eat that damn muffin if it kills me."

8\. (quote) 'Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.' - Mark Twain

{{I've got free reign, so here's your warning! AU- Avengers are students at Hogwarts, post-Hogwarts Battle.}}

Natasha spoke quietly with Loki, before sending her partner off into the stacks to locate the reference material needed for their joint project in Potions. She dragged Clint over to their usual table. "Study," she said with an air of finality and pulled her own text out to read while they waited for Loki to come back.

The tranquil silence didn't last very long when Tony Stark, loudmouth Gryffindor, and Bruce Banner, quiet Ravenclaw, entered the library. Tony immediately appropriated the table next to Natasha and Clint and proceeded to talk, at an obnoxious level, at Bruce, who seemed to be ignoring him in favor of getting some studying done.

"Come on, Tony, I'm trying to study," Bruce hissed.

"It's not like you need to study, Brucie. You're _almost_ as smart as me, so I know you don't really _need_ to study," Tony wheedled, maintaining his annoying volume.

Natasha took a deep breath and gripped her wand under the back cover of her Transfiguration text.

"Easy, Tash," Clint chided softly, tipping his chair back nonchalantly as he dug into his bag. "Just because the Gryffindor Brat is at the next table over, doesn't mean you have to be all violent-like."

Natasha glared at her Hufflepuff friend and shook her head, going back to reading the chapter assigned by Professor McGonagall.

Clint grinned in triumph as he pulled his prize from his bag. He rolled his blueberry muffin between his hands and eyed the front desk to see if Hermione was up there. Unfortunately, Hermione _was_ perched behind the front desk, as was Madam Pince. He pouted and looked at his muffin.

"If you eat that in here, Hermione will take your head, not to mention what Madam Pince would do to you. Don't push your luck," Natasha said as she read, not even bothering to look up.

Clint sighed and put the muffin back in his bag. "I will eat that damn muffin if it kills me," he swore.

"Yeah, yeah, Clint. We're here to study, not have snack time."

"Hey, Birdbrain!" Tony crowed from his spot at the Gryffindor table.

Clint dropped his chair back to the ground and leveled his stare at them.

Natasha snorted and mocked, " _Just because the Gryffindor brat is at the next table over, doesn't mean you have to be all violent-like_."

Clint turned his unimpressed stare from the obnoxious rich kid and onto his best friend. "I'm not violent. I'm a Hufflepuff. I'm sweet and nice and the best friend anyone could ask for."

"Humble, too, don't forget," Natasha snorted. "Are you sure you didn't con the Hat into putting you there just so you'd know what went on in the Badger House?"

"Oh, come on. You know I'm not as cunning or smart as you. I'm barely passing my classes, and it's not because I don't study, but you already know that. I'm not brave—"

Natasha snorted and held up her hand. "Not brave? Who was it that walked along the rooftop without protection spells just last week?"

"Hey, Barton! I'm talking to you!" Tony snapped, forcing his way into their conversation as he stood up.

"And I'm very obviously not listening." Clint turned his face away and tapped his ears to deactivate his hearing aids. During one of his balancing acts a few years ago, he'd fallen from a height that should have killed him. Only the quick thinking of Natasha and Loki had managed to have him come away with minimal damage. Unfortunately, because the damage was in his brain, specifically his temporal lobe, the Healers at St. Mungos didn't want to chance causing even further impairment. They gave him a set of magical hearing aids, which were actually earrings with a Notice-Me-Not charm on them, to help him regain his hearing. No one really knew about his hearing loss except for Loki, Steve, and Natasha- the Slytherin royalty. The four of them had begun learning sign language almost as soon as the Healer gave the diagnosis, so that if there was ever a time when the hearing aids were damaged, or Clint just turned them off, they would still be able to communicate.

"Tony," Bruce tugged his sleeve, trying to get the indignant Gryffindor to retake his seat, "leave him alone. Do you want to provoke Natasha?"

Tony looked down at his best friend with a confused frown. "Why would my bugging Clint have anything to do with Natasha, Bruce?"

The Ravenclaw tilted his head just to the front of the aforementioned Hufflepuff. "Maybe because she's sitting _right_ there?"

Tony blinked and looked back at the table in question. His eyes widened when he saw Natasha leaning forward in her seat and twirling her wand in her fingers. "H-h-hi, Natasha," he stuttered out.

"Is there a reason you are trying to mess with my Hawk?" She smiled serenely as she stood. Her wand shot out sparks from her agitation.

Clint tapped Natasha's leg, and when he got her attention, signed, " **Don't do anything rash, Tash. He's not worth detention or points lost**."

"I just wanted to know if he was ever going to ask you out since he's obviously in love with you," Tony said, recovering his bravado.

Natasha's gaze narrowed dangerously, but before she could respond, Steve set his books down at the end of their table. "Stark, get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."

Natasha looked at her fellow Slytherin and smirked. "Upset that he didn't catch on that we're together, Steve?"

Steve just shook his head at Natasha's attempted provocation and signed, " **Good morning, Clint**."

Clint looked over at Steve and signed, " **What just happened**?"

" **Stark implied that you and Nat are an item because you're so** _ **obviously**_ **head over heels for her** ," Steve signed back with a sly grin.

Clint snorted and tapped his hearing aids back on and said, "Seriously? Did I really miss that? He does realize that she has _nothing_ I want, right?"

Natasha laughed out loud at that, drawing the attention of Madam Pince and Hermione.

Hermione stood to make her way over to the group. Natasha shook her head and sat back down, refocusing on her book. Clint slipped on a placating smile.

Hermione stepped up to the group and took in the slack-jawed Tony Stark standing next to his table, Bruce studiously trying to ignore everything, Steve writing his essay, Natasha reading her chapter, and Clint digging in his bag. "I expected the five of you to be able to keep it down when Tho—"

She cut off and ran a hand down her face in annoyance as Thor slammed the library doors open and announced his presence.

"Shut up, Thor," came the quiet voice of a Hufflepuff, James Barnes.

The Gryffindor just shrugged and walked over to the table where Tony was still standing.

"Keep it down," Hermione chastised before going back to the front.

"I swear he put a tracking charm on me," Loki groused as he came back from the stacks where he'd located several reference books for the project.

"It's not that bad, Lo," Natasha said, patting his shoulder. "At least he can't get into the dorms. Lions are forbidden from entering the Snake Den. We even put in extra precautions since we discovered that Potter managed it in his second year."

"That doesn't stop Hawk from getting in," Loki said with a grin.

"Ah, but we _allow_ him entrance. You know as well as I do that he was meant to be a Snake. He cheated the Hat so he could flirt with that boy that was Sorted right before him."

James set his books down next to Clint and shook his head. "Are you still on about that, Nat? I told you he wasn't trying to flirt with me."

Clint grinned and sidled right up to James. "But you're so _pretty_. How could I resist that face?"

James arched an eyebrow and shook his head. "I know where you sleep, and I'm not afraid to use WWW products on you."

Clint sat up straight and put his hands up. "No more invading your space. Got it."

James rolled his eyes and watched Thor trudge over to the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw study table while making puppy eyes at Loki. "Loki, what is up with your brother?"

"He's not my brother," Loki muttered as he took notes. "I'm adopted. Found out just before the Battle. It's why I stayed back with the First through Fourth Year students in the Common Room. I couldn't go out to the Battle knowing that I could cross wands with my birth parents."

James looked troubled. "Really? If you don't mind me asking, who were-"

"All that matters is that they were Dark, and I don't want to talk about them," Loki said quietly.

With that, the subject was dropped and the group started on their joint projects.

James stayed between Tony and Clint to avoid any possible confrontations, and Steve shielded Loki from Thor. It was tense, but not anything they weren't used to due to the invasive nature of their Gryffindor counterparts. They only had two more days for their assignments to be completed after all.


End file.
